When The Black Sheep Returns to the Fold/ words by Irving Berlin

Lyrics:First verseWhen the robin returns to it's nest, After straying away from the rest, There's a welcome that waits From it's feathery mates, A welcome that can't be expressed. So it is with the boy who decided From his father and mother to roam. Through his travels he may be misguided, But when finally the black sheep comes home.ChorusEvery thing that he did is forgotten, And they welcome him back to the fold, He knows by their sad wrinkled faces, That the pain of his absence has told, Once again they all sit ‘round the table As they did in the days of old; And they’ll weep tears of joy, As they whisper “My Boy,” When the black sheep returns to the fold. Every thing that he did is forgotten, And they welcome him back to the fold, He knows by their sad wrinkled faces, That the pain of his absence has told, Once again they all sit ‘round the table As they did in the days of old; And they’ll weep tears of joy, As they whisper “My Boy,” When the black sheep returns to the fold.
Second verseWhen the smile of a fool starts to fade, When he finds out the errors he made; Then the old fashioned truth That he heard in his youth Says, “Go home,” but he is afraid. As he stands on the threshold of sorrow, With the doors of the world closed up tight, He compares yesterday with tomorrow And decides that he’ll go home that night.
(Chorus)

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The derogatory terms, images, and ideas that appear in some of this sheet music are not condoned by the University of Mississippi. They do represent the attitudes of a number of Americans at the times the songs were published. As such, it is hoped that the sheet music in this collection can aid students of music, history, and other disciplines to better understand popular American music and racial stereotypes from the 19th- and early 20th-centuries. Read the introduction for further information to use when contextualizing this item: http://130.74.92.141/cdm4/intro_harris.php